This Mediterranean salad is recent, crunchy, and stuffed with daring, Greek-style flavors. Made with crisp veggies, feta, herbs, and a zesty, lemony French dressing!
If there was a salad recipe I’d make day by day, it’s this one! I nonetheless bear in mind the primary time I ordered a basic Greek salad on a visit to Greece with Alex. The mixture of crisp veggies with salty feta and olives was one of the vital refreshing issues I’d ever tasted.
Right here’s a inexperienced salad that’s primarily based on these flavors! This Mediterranean salad recipe is a recent inexperienced salad with Greek-style flavors (with romaine lettuce, not pasta or grain-based), with crunchy greens, briny olives, salty feta, and a shiny lemony French dressing. It’s excellent as a light-weight lunch or facet dish that takes simply 20 minutes: or, you possibly can prime it with hen, salmon, shrimp, or tofu for a satisfying dinner thought!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Listed below are a number of causes I feel you’ll love this recipe:
- Daring flavors: The selfmade Greek French dressing with the salty feta cheese, briny olives, and recent herbs make scrumptious layers of taste
- Fast prep time: With a prep time of simply 20 minutes and no cooking required, it’s a quick and straightforward possibility
- Customizable: Serve it as a facet inexperienced salad, or prime it with protein to make it into dinner!
Components You’ll Want
There are various methods to make a Mediterranean salad, and right here’s my spin! It’s one among my favourite Mediterranean eating regimen recipes that pairs with nearly any meal. Right here’s what you’ll want:
- Romaine lettuce: I just like the crunch of romaine. If it’s important to substitute, use butter lettuce.
- Cucumber, onion, and tomato: These greens additionally star within the well-known Greek salad.
- Kalamata olives: Kalamata olives are key, however you possibly can swap in different varieties like Castelvetrano.
- Feta cheese: Feta is vital right here for the briny salty taste, and it’s evocative of a Greek salad. You’ll be able to omit it for vegan diets (or use vegan feta, bought or selfmade).
- Recent Herbs: I’m obsessive about recent dill on this salad: it provides this shiny, barely candy taste. Recent parsley, basil, or cilantro all work too.
- Dressing: I really like this salad with our Greek salad dressinghowever it’s also possible to use Italian dressing or tahini sauce.
The right way to Make a Mediterranean Salad
This Mediterranean salad recipe takes about 20 minutes to make. Listed below are the essential steps (or bounce to the recipe):
Step 1: Chop the greens into bite-sized items. I prefer to preserve every little thing roughly related in dimension so that you get a little bit of every little thing in every forkful.
Step 2: In a medium bowl, whisk the purple wine vinegar, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, oregano, optionally available garlic, and salt in a medium sized bowl. Step by step whisk within the olive oil.
Step 3: Add the recent elements to a plate or bowl, topping with feta cheese and recent herbs. High with dressing and serve.
Professional Tip: The important thing to avoiding a soggy salad is all about timing. Add the salad dressing simply earlier than you’re able to eat, not earlier than. In the event you gown it too early, the lettuce will wilt and launch water.
Variations & Substitutions
The right way to combine up this Mediterranean salad recipe? First, you possibly can add completely different greens or swap in several dressings. Listed below are a number of concepts:
- Chickpeas or white beans: So as to add vegan protein, add drained and rinsed chickpeas or white beans
- Veggie swaps: Add recent chopped purple or inexperienced bell pepper and even sliced roasted bell peppers. Chopped artichokes add a tangy aptitude. You may also combine in a little bit of uncooked broccoli florets, and even steamed cauliflower.
- Grains: Including cooked quinoa makes a heartier salad.
- Dressing: Strive Tahini Sauce, Italian Dressingour primary French dressing Recipeor Lemon French dressing as a substitute.
Protein Add-Ins
This Mediterranean salad pairs effectively with lean proteins to make it right into a wholesome dinner thought: the intense, acidic French dressing and recent veggies completement a protein completely. Right here’s how I sometimes add protein to make it a whole meal:
- Rooster: Think about topping with grilled hen or pan seared hen
- Salmon: Strive baked salmon or seared salmon.
- Shrimp: Go for sauteed shrimp, grilled shrimpor shrimp kabobs.
- Tofu: Make baked tofu or crispy tofu. I really like tofu on a salad: if you happen to salt it sufficient it nearly tastes like feta!
- Canned Tuna: For a fast lunch, add some canned tuna to show this right into a Mediterranean tuna salad.
Serving Concepts
This Mediterranean-style salad could be very versatile. Right here’s when and the way I serve it:
- As a Facet Dish: This can be a nice salad to serve with lasagna or any pasta dish. It’s additionally implausible alongside grilled hen, grilled salmon or grilled shrimp at summer time barbecues.
- For Weeknight Dinners: I make this typically as a straightforward facet for easy proteins. It pairs with baked hen thighs, baked tilapiaor perhaps a frittata.
- At Potlucks and Events: That is nice for bringing to a celebration! Serve it alongside hummus and heat pita bread.
- With Wine or Non-Alcoholic Pairings: A crisp white wine like Sauvignon Blanc or a dry rosé is ideal right here! Or pair with glowing water with lemon or iced inexperienced tea.
Storage & Make-Forward Ideas
If you wish to make this Mediterranean salad forward, you possibly can chop the greens upfront and make the dressing, storing each in separate containers. It’s finest to chop the tomato as near serving as potential. When serving, enable the dressing to return to room temperature, then assemble the salad.
For storing leftover salad, leftovers with dressing final for as much as 1 day refrigerated (dressed salads do grow to be soggy over time).
Dietary Notes
This Mediterranean salad is vegetarian and gluten-free. For plant-based, vegan and dairy-free, omit the feta cheese.
Regularly Requested Questions
A standard Greek salad (or Horiatiki) doesn’t embody lettuce: it’s simply chunky tomatoes, cucumbers, purple onion, olives, and a big slab of feta cheese with olive oil and oregano.
A Mediterranean salad, however, often begins with a lettuce base (typically romaine) and contains related veggies however in a chopped format. It’s extra of an Americanized interpretation of Greek and Mediterranean flavors.
Sure! This Mediterranean salad recipe is full of nutrient-dense elements. The veggies present fiber, nutritional vitamins, and minerals. The additional virgin olive oil is wealthy in heart-healthy fats (see Olive Oil vs Vegetable Oil). The primary issues to look at are sodium from the olives and feta, and you’ll management that by adjusting quantities.
The most important mistake is including the dressing too early, which makes every little thing soggy. All the time gown proper earlier than serving. Additionally, don’t skip the recent herbs! Dried simply doesn’t offer you that very same shiny, vibrant taste. Lastly, ensure your lettuce is totally dry after washing: extra water makes every little thing soggy.
The basic selection is a lemon French dressing made with purple wine vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil, and dried oregano (just like the one on this recipe).
Different nice choices embody a tahini-based dressing for creaminess, a Greek yogurt dressing with lemon and garlic powder, or a easy Italian dressing. I’ve even used my Greek salad dressing interchangeably.
Mediterranean Salad
Pin Recipe
This Mediterranean salad is recent, crunchy, and stuffed with daring, Greek-style flavors. Made with crisp veggies, feta, herbs, and a zesty, lemony French dressing!
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook dinner Time: 0 minutes
- Whole Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Class: Salad
- Methodology: Uncooked
- Delicacies: Salad
- Food regimen: Vegetarian
Components
- 8 cups lettuce, chopped into chew sized items
- ⅓ cup olives, sliced in half
- 1/2 English cucumberchopped
- 2 small tomatoes or 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- ½ cup feta cheese
- ¼ cup sliced purple onion
- 1 handful chopped or torn recent herbs (dill, basil, cilantro or parsley)
- 1 recipe Greek Salad Dressing:
- 1 tablespoon purple wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano or za’atar
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 6 tablespoons olive oil
Directions
- Chop the recent greens as famous above.
- In a medium bowl, whisk collectively the purple wine vinegar, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, oregano, kosher salt and black pepper. Step by step whisk within the olive oil, including 1 tablespoon at a time and whisking till it incorporates, till an emulsion kinds. Serve instantly. Retailer refrigerated and convey to room temperature earlier than serving (retains no less than 2 weeks). The dressing could separate after sitting which is okay; merely whisk once more earlier than serving.
- To serve, place the greens on a plate. High with the greens, then feta crumbles and herbs. Drizzle with the specified quantity of dressing and serve.
Notes
Substitutions: Add drained, rinsed chickpeas or white beans for further protein. Chopped bell peppers, roasted purple peppers, or artichoke hearts all work fantastically. For a grain-based model, add cooked quinoa. You’ll be able to substitute the lemon French dressing with Tahini Sauce or Italian dressing.
Protein Add-Ins: High with grilled hen, baked salmon, sautéed shrimpor crispy tofu to make this a whole meal.
Make-Forward Ideas: Retailer the chopped greens and dressing individually in hermetic containers for as much as 5 days. Wait to chop the tomatoes and add the dressing till proper earlier than serving to take care of the very best texture and keep away from sogginess.
Vegan Choice: Omit the feta cheese or use a vegan feta various.
